Best of 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe

Published May 22, 2025, 1:15 PM

Thursday on 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe, the Knicks choke bigtime vs the Pacers in Game 1. The big men get love with the new Protector of the Year Award and NFL Insider Albert Breer gives a behind the scenes look in to the Tush Push Ban vote and more from the NFL Owners Meetings.

This is the best of two pros and a couple Joe with Lamar Aarings and Rating Winn and Jonas Knox on four Radio.

I have a question to ask both of you, if you don't mind, because you got to help me out with this. Does the G in MSG stand for gag? Because what a gag job that was by the Knicks last night. Dynamite job, folks, Way to go, way to celebrate and climb stuff in the streets of Manhattan after advancing past the second round for the first time in.

One hundred and eighty five years or whatever.

It was.

Way to go.

Way to follow that up with your home crowd last night? What the hell was that the store?

The storyline touched on Reggie Miller, you know, and he is a part of the original gag job, so here you go.

You know, I do love the fact that.

I do love the fact though that it felt like you were watching that that I don't want to say rivalry, but that game again, I mean Tyrese Haliburton knew exactly what he was doing when he hit that shot that seemed miraculous the way it bounced, the way he took the shot, but unbelievable come back. I mean once they once they tied it up. I mean, I don't know how you guys felt, but I was like, this game's over. Indian Appolis is going to win this in overtime if this thing holds true. So it was unbelievable. But this Pacers team, I think we've underestimated. At least I've underestimated all throughout the playoffs. I did not think that they were a team that was going to be able to make it to the NB Finals, even could win it.

Now I feel like they are a team you just can't count them out.

I mean, Ny Smith hit those eight, those eight threes, I'm not going I think the Knicks underestimated some aspects of.

The Pacers.

And I don't know if the way the Pacers won that game, I don't know how sustainable that is, but it I mean it definitely is entertainment and made it an entertaining game. I mean there was a lot of excitement. You know, Madison Square Garden was rocking, and they ended up letting it get away.

Man.

And I mean, I just don't know how feasible it is if I'm the New York Knicks to look at that loss as as a catalyst for the rest of the series. But if I'm the Indiana Pacers, how are they viewing the game?

Like?

I think this is one of those games where it's like, Okay, you got out of the first game, and you won that first game in a hostile environment, and you overcame improbable type of odds. I mean, being down as far as they were to be able to climb back into the game, which now again goes back to the whole conversation of living by the deep ball, died by the deep ball. They were able to find the rim, they kept leaving them open to shoot shoot the ball, and and Naismith continue to make it. And and so that's I'm certain that's an adjustment that the.

Knicks can make. Yeah, you're not.

I doubt we're going to see Natesmith hit thirty points maybe ever again in this series. But Halliburton delivered. He delivered what he has generally delivered and was able to send the game into overtime, and they were able to win the game. But I do not think they were the better team in the game. And so it'll be interesting to see how how the series continues to unfold, because again that could be considered to be one of those demoralizing victories or demoralizing losses to to the New York Knicks. But in Game one, it shouldn't be a demoralizing victory because if I'm if I'm the Knicks, if I'm the coach, I'm walking away from it. I'm saying we clearly were the better team, and some lapses in judgment in terms of maybe how they played defense.

You know, you know you could hear, you know, uh, Chuck.

And Shaq and Draymond. Draymond was kind of throwing it like, hey, look, you know that was an adjustment that they should have made. They should have they shouldn't have sacrifice something to do something. I forget how he explained it, but I guess it's, you know, slipping and switching. They weren't switching or or slipping the picks that were taking place to free Naysmith up. So you know, I don't know. I think those are adjustments that they can make and maybe make it a better game, you better series moving forward.

You're not alarmed by how they lost that game moving forward. I mean, Shaq was making the point when Nie Smith hit two and then three and then four, it was like, Okay, well, at some point somebody's gonna have to address that. They missed free throws down the stretch. Their defense completely fell apart late, and Tibbs is a defensive guy. Like I looked at last night's game and I'm like, that might have been the series. I swear to God, that might have been.

They just lost.

They just lost home court on an all time collapse, on an all time collapse. And for the record, Indiana has been better than many people have thought or realized for a long time. You can go back to last year when they were in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were here last year and got swept by the Celtics, and if you go back and watch that series, they were in every one of those games like they were competitive. They probably should have won the first game there. This is a really good team. They're really deep. They're much deeper than the Knicks are. They're the East in Conference equivalent I think of the OKC Thunder. I don't think there is good but last night was problematic for the Knicks.

If it's me, I think the irony to this team is they remind me a little bit of the twenty and four team, which was the last time they won an Eastern Conference Finals game, if you think about that. But obviously Halliburton fits the bill of what Reggie Miller was as a shooting guard. And then you kind of look through some of the other pieces they had on that team and Steven Jackson, I don't know who you if you want to compare him, Denis Smith or someone else.

Ermaine O'Neil, you could maybe compare to.

Some of those, But it's like the pieces of this team seem to match up somewhat similarly back to that team twenty one years ago and the way they were able to play. So I look at it and just say, it's weird how history tends to repeat itself. But you couldn't have found a better player, at least this early in his career in Tyres Haliburton, who's kind of fit that bill of what Reggie Miller was to Theanana Pacers.

At least he's a three point shooter.

By the way, when he made that shot and turn around and did the choking gesture, he turned and pointed.

Was was Spike Lee at the game last night?

I think you think he was pointing at Reggie because Reggie Miller was calling the game.

Okay, because it looked like he pointed more not towards the middle of the court where Reggie would have been, but more like to another another spot on the court.

It looked like he was pointing the more where Spike Lee would have been.

Yeah, he was.

Uh, I guess like Lee definitely would have been there, though That's what I'm saying is it didn't.

Initially it looked like he kind of looked over at Reggie, but then he pointed more like off the side and where like a guy like Spike Lee would be sitting on the on the you know, court side.

So Halliburton actually spoke afterwards about the gesture. I was not familiar with the term or of farming, but apparently that's the thing. Let's take a listen.

I wasn't like plotting out on or anything.

I just everybody wanted me to do it, like last year at some different point. But it's just gotta just gotta feel right, and it felt right at the time.

If I would have known it was a two, I would not have done it.

So I think I might have wasted it.

If if I do it again, then.

I might be people say I'm like or farming, So I'm not a I don't plan on using it again.

What a great moment, man, By the way, I Tracy.

You or a farm by the way a little bit, do you think so?

You definitely tried to with some of the takes, which which I don't know how the proclamation you just made about the Indiana Pacers after that win, how that's not a pick. You've basically already said what the rest of the series is going to be.

I mean, listen, I knew I knew it was coming, didn't though? Better late than never?

Hey, Pacers plus four and a half, never in doubt, never in doubt. That was easy money all the way through a full fledged bank heist there at Madison Square Garden. And by the way, if Tracy Morgan is throwing up on the floor on the floor during just a calm, casual game, what was he doing last night?

Like Lee?

Do you have any updates on Tracy Morgan blowing chunks on the court there at MSG based on what he saw from his team.

Working on it, but nothing yet. It's an all the time.

Do we have any updates on Lee?

By the way, and just how Lee is doing after his wonder had a rough day yesterday.

Spotted it a text. Yeah, yeah, I'm doing what you're talking about.

Okay, just fine, there's a little delivery wednesday, but uh.

All is good to one, just fine. Just a little laws Turner should be should be mentioned. Uh his name hasn't been mentioned. He I think he is if they are going to win, He's going to be just as much a key part of this team winning as even almost as Halliburton. I think that that is, he is the player that makes the difference for Halliburton to be who Halliburton is, which is the star of the team, which is the the batman of the team. But I tell you what, he is a super valuable player to to the cause of the Indiana Pacers. And it'll be interesting to see can he maintain because he shot really well yesterday and he was knocking down some some pretty you know, pretty important shots for them, and and it keeps it keeps the the knicks honest, It kept their defense honest. It kept them in in some cases, I mean, it kept them in uh striking distance and gave them opportunities. So, you know, Miles, he deserves some some credit and and and some you know, obviously some some acknowledgment of what his part in the game was. I think he's actually the longest tenured Indiana Pacer in the history of the franchise. I believe that that interesting. I guess like trivia for for Miles Turner is.

I believe so I believe he could be looked that up. Lee.

I would have it could be the longest tenured Indiana Pacer.

I would have said, Rick Smith's, uh maybe yeah.

That Regie, you know, like the guys have been the longest.

I would I think I'm right, But but I definitely think that he deserves uh some you know, some credit.

Reggie had eighteen seasons, Miles has a ten.

There's something, there's something longest something, There's something there. He he broke. He broke some type of record in terms of longest something. But anyway, yeah, may I'm off, but longest tenured player on the Indiana Pacers, having spent ten seasons with the team, that was drafted in.

Two round fifteen.

Yea.

Currently, yeah, there we go to that effect. We should.

We should also mentioned the passing of Jim Mersay. Obviously, speaking of Indianapolis, the Colts owner passing away, which I think caught everybody by surprise, but it was appropriate. He sent one final tweet before passing away, saying go Pacers, good luck to her, the entire Pacers organization, and our city. And then according to the Colts, he passed away peacefully in his sleep. So kind of an emotional rollercoaster for the city of Indianapolis, for the fan base of both those teams. But you know, at least they got a they got a happy ending at the end with the win last night. But anything I've ever heard about Jim Mersey, I've heard nothing but good things. And he's a little bit of a little bit of a wild man, and there was all sorts of stories about him that came out through the media over the past several years. But I can remember having a conversation with Jeffrey Gorman, who worked here and did a show with Steve Gorman for years, and Jeffrey was close to the Colts War Organization, did stuff with the Colts organization, and he was close with Jim Mersay and he always told me great dude, like great guy. Anybody who ever came in contact with him was a big fan of Jim Mersay. The way he operated, so kind of sad to.

See that this guy loved Indianapolis, you know, he really did. He loved his organization, He loved the Colts and football, he loved the Pacers though he was a sports fan. And you know, talking to some of the people within the organization this past year for that final game of the season, you know, there's a lot of conversation about what was going to happen to Chris Ballard, what could potentially have to Shane Steiken based on how maybe the final game went or how the season had gone. And just talking with everyone there, you got a sense that, you know a couple of things.

Obviously the condition of Jim or.

I've got some technical difficulties with Brady there, But yeah, do you.

Want to say this having gained a tree leaning country wearing songbird yesterday, So there's that, yeah, you know, and that's that's that should be noted that Jill Mersey, I'm certain will be singing or is already singing some of his songs.

Hell yeah.

Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington, and Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

So I can't believe this is actually a real thing and it hasn't been done sooner. But the NFL announcer going to hand out moving forward, something called the Protector of the Year Award, and it's going to be handed out to the best offensive lineman each year.

The name is terrible nice, I mean the name.

Yeah, they got to figure out something else there.

But but how's this not happened before?

I don't know.

I mean, they've had in college football for a while now that the Tom Moore Award, and I believe I'm trying to recall who is behind it, but the reality is it's an awesome honor, especially to a group that's the most selfless group on the football field, and ultimately he plays as big of a role as anyone and winning or losing championships for that matter.

So it's cool to see the NFL is taking this step.

It feels like sometimes the NFL is so hesitant, or even college football is hesitant to mimic what the other is doing, like they don't want to do it sometimes just for the sake of it, Like, well, that's what.

College football does. We don't want to do that.

Well, this is deservedly so, and I think most people they'll look at a number of teams out there, and they tend to be the teams that are playing late in the season, and they will say, that's one of the best, if not the best, offensive lines. So I'm glad they're finally doing this, I.

Don't know, Protector of the Year. Like it sucks.

It sounds really cheesy to me, man, But I mean I get the premise of it because it is a very very very under undervalued position, you know, or role that you play. It's like the only time offensive linemen really get noticed is when they are doing something that that leads to a major play by the defense. You know, it's it's a it's a very thankless job. And so while I like the premise of what it represents, like, you know, give them some give them some credit. Because again I always come back to this, we have now settled in on thinking whoever wins the Heisman is the best player in college football. We've settled in on that, and I think it it's it's unfortunate because it's always going to overlook guys that should be considered the best player in the gang because you're focused in on quarterbacks, Like that's kind of just the general idea of it is, you know, more often than not, the quarterback is not the best player in college football.

It's just not. It's it's more often than not, so I know, pushback.

It's more offensive in nature nowadays.

I mean we've had a number of wide receivers, I mean, Travis Hunter is a you know, slash player wide receiver cornerback this year, but even DeVante Smith going back, and it just feels like it's it's just it's become more of an offensive award. It's which, to your point, is unfortunate.

It's again and the answer is, yes, it is offensively driven. But even looking at it from it being offensively driven, you never look at the offensive line. You just never do it. Like Orlando Pace should have been the first offensive lineman to when the heisman, I.

Mean, wasist is incredible well.

And he should have won and he and it shouldn't even been a question and it shouldn't even been close. Orlando Pays is one of those offensive linemen generational talent that should have won the.

Award, But did any George win it that year?

Though maybe maybe so, maybe so.

I just know when when you have these types of things where they develop an award for a position on the field, especially in particular like the offensive line, it's it's like, you know, that's nice, it's a qualifier. But let's be clear, like an offensive lineman is always going to be an afterthought to pretty much everybody else unless they are tremendous liability and and so to me, you know, I feel I feel though it's nice that that they come up with an award that, you know, acknowledges that. I think it is a pretty corny award. I mean in terms of name and title, I think it's pretty corny. But in nature, I think it it makes perfect sense.

I got a solution. Why did they change it to the Larry Allen Award? He passed away last year. Some have called him the greatest offensive lineman in the history of the league.

Why not that, Awa, He's not the greatest lineman in the history of the league.

For once, it's debatable.

It's not debatable who's the.

Best, by the way, by the way, I was way off.

It was the following year after Eddie George won the Heisman and Orlando Pace finished fourth that's amazing.

That is amazing, which, by the way, that's amazing because you're not going to get the love and respect that you're deserving of being an offensive lineman.

So, by the way, he was second to John Hicks, who I believe was another offensive lineman for Ohio State who finished rather high in the Heisman in nineteen seventy three. But pretty crazy to think, like in today's terms, I just I don't know of another offensive linman in college football that has been so dominant that you could even put into that conversation. Now, granted something, that's how the game's changed. So you know they don't run as much, so maybe that's part of it. But I mean, think about how rare that is. I mean, two guys in the history of the Heisman.

Yeah, some people do have have Larry Island number one, jonas I wouldn't have thought that you would have Orlando Pace ranked fourth or Jonathan Ognen ranked third.

I think, honestly speaking.

If if I were to give my top top offensive lineman, Larry Isllen would be in my top five one hundred of need list that was ever created, no shade, no doubt there. But I think you got to start with Orlando Pace at number one on every list, and then I think about Walter Jones and Jonathan Ogden as my interchangeable two and three, and then maybe a Larry Allen after that. I know people love throwing that love to Anthony Munos. I know he did a fine job and an amazing job in the time, in the era that he played. I wouldn't put him as the top guy of all time, but you know he had a brilliant career. But I don't know, so to your point, I guess you know some people do. Look got Larry Allen as the greatest of all time.

I think I was pushing for Olin Krutz to get his name on the award I heard.

Back of the day. But you're the Bears fan, buddy, Just.

You know, try trying to give some love to the great offensive lineman of the game who are finally getting in the ward after on.

What about Joe Thomas.

For going that round? All right? That works?

There you go?

Yeah, makes sense to me.

Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington, and Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three Am Pacific.

We turn it over to Albert Breer, a senior NFL reporter lead content strategist at the MMQB. You also see his work during the season on Amazon Prime as our NFL insider AB. Good morning, how are we feeling?

Good morning, guys, how are we doing good?

So, what can you tell us about this feisty conversation that was had about the tush push in Minnesota? Jeffrey Lourie reportedly comparing it to a teenage boy's wet dream. YadA YadA, Yeah, like all the stuff that came out, What can you tell us about what went into them not approving the banning of the tush push?

Well, the first thing I would tell you them sick of talking about it. But I but just for you guys, I'll go ahead and talk about it one more time.

Yeah, you know, I think guys, like the this got so complicated and so just wound up in different agendas and everything else over the last four months. I think that sort of became the problem, Like the discussion, the issue itself became a problem onto itself, and that really started, you know, I think going back to March, when you know, the Eagles really felt like they had been targeted, and they were hearing two different explanations on why this needed to be taken out of the game. On one side, you had the other teams and the other team saying that this is a rugby play, it's not a football player. And then you had the league saying it's a health and safety matter. So which is it? And you know, when the Eagles challenged the two those two groups, they didn't get answers they thought were satisfactory, and some of the teams, the other teams that were concerned, looked at it and said, well, it's wait two narrow the way the Packers initially wrote it, and it does look like it's like it's targeting the Eagles. So they went back. They rewrite it based on the two thousand and four rule, which was no pushing or pulling of an offensive teammate period. And in the end, that winds up including some other plays that some other teams didn't want outlawed, like you know, effort plays down the field. I think one team stay to me, we don't want to legislate effort. So they wound up being a no because they felt like alignment coming downfield twenty yards and helping his teammate over a line. It shouldn't be illegal. So it's just I think it got so tied up and so complicated, and I think too many people took their eyes off the ball on this one. And I think to some degree you saw yesterday, like in that meeting room, I can tell you it sort of became personal. And I think that that's why in the end it didn't wind up passing.

I have so many questions in that regard, but it didn't pass because those twenty two to ten, they need.

Twenty four of them.

It's do you foresee this like being tabled but potentially change it in the future. Then there's all those kinds of nuances and different conversations we could have about the rule, for example, like alignment running downfield, Well, you don't have to carry the guy across the line, you can go block the guy that's trying to tackle.

Him, right Like That's how it's always been back when that rule is in place. But I digress.

The point is, does like well just get enough momentum, or is it's just kind of dead now where it's just going to be the same, you know, and we're gonna the touch push moving forward.

Well, I mean I would I would tell you, Brady, we have two hundred and seventy two games between now and the next time, well, two hundred and eighty five, I guess to be include playoffs. Two or eighty five games between now and the next time they talk about this, and none of us know what's going to happen, right, Like.

So, right, so if an injury happens, do you think that that's for all.

The guys who voted against it, they're like, hey, here it is. It's a safety issue.

Yeah, yeah, I mean you have that. There's that part of it, you know what I mean, Like, which is like if there's an injury, that might change the dynamic for some people, you know, if teams get more effective at stopping it, and like the Eagles aren't running it anymore in week six, week seven, week eate whatever it is, because it become a non issue. That's possible too, you know what I mean. Like, I just I think it's hard to predict where we're going with this because we do have again, like two hundred and eighty five football games between now and the next time they'll talk about it, and I think that'll kind of mark where the discussion goes. I mean, I just again, like, I think this got to the point where it really, it really did become personal between the Eagles and some other teams. And I think that's why you're sitting here like and more of the news now is about what happened in that room rather than the mechanics of play. And I think it's sort of indicative of how this conversation in general has gotten out of hand over the last three or four months.

Aby, you've been in media for quite some time. How long would you say you've you've been in media.

For Well, it's maybe be my twenty first year covering the NFL and the cool sports for that, So whatever that number is, Hell, yeah, I'm a great.

Exactly.

And so you've seen a lot of things in the industry kind of.

Evolve and develop.

And you know, just turning into what it is now, what's your take on like where media personalities are right now? I mean, it just seems like every time I turn around, there's somebody in our.

Media that has has beef.

And then I guess the reason why I'm asking you that right now, AB, is because the latest one being RG three and Ryan Clark, which are two former guys that you've covered, Like, do you ever, like, you know, take inventory on where.

The media game is right now?

What's your like curious from you being a vet, what's your take on it?

It's kind of funny because, like one of the first to teach you in journalism schools, don't make yourself a story, you know, and that like the people that you cover are the story. That's changed over the years is all this stuff has become more personality driven and everything else. But yeah, i'd also say, like, for you know, my job, you know, it's interesting. My job is much different than like like what a former professional athlete like Ryan Clark or Robert Griffin's job is, Like my job is to report on this stuff. My job is to take people behind closed doors and tell them stuff they don't already know, and and and and educate them and you know, like for for former athletes to give opinions is to analyze the game on a level that you know, like that that that that the general public like wouldn't wouldn't that a level knowledge they wouldn't have just by watching. Yeah, I think the common app is like for all of us, our our our jobs are to entertain and to and to give people something that they can't get anywhere else. And you know, I will say that it's like I mean, for better or worse, like those sorts of beef, those sorts of fights always have legs. I mean, it's not just the ex athletes.

You guys remember the showdown at Starbucks in Indianapolis and those guys, those guys weren't asleeps competing there. So I don't know the American public, Like the more I've done this guy, the more it's like it's like a middle school, like you know.

Like cafeteria.

Like you know, anytime anybody sniffs any sort of fight or beef or whatever, it's like, ooh, did you hear what.

He said about you? And off we go. So uh so, yeah, I'd say, I'd say, like how it relates to the way we do our jobs, Like I don't think anybody was taught to do their job that way, you know what I mean when it comes to being in the media, whether it's as an ex athlete or a journalist. You know, but on the other hand, and the general public sure can't get enough of it.

Albert Breer joining us here on Fox Sports Radio. Get him on x at. Albert Breer, senior NFL reporter, lead content strategist at the MMQB Amazon NFL on Prime Insider got to ask you also, at these meetings, apparently the Lions pulled back their idea that was kind of they were coursed into putting together about reseting the playoffs. What went behind that not getting anywhere? Because it feels like a no brainer. We kind of had a debate about it. I know some of us felt one way, some of us felt the other. Why did that ultimately not even make a conversation or two at the meetings this week?

I mean the easy answer does just flat out wasn't enough support for it?

Right?

Like, so there were only about a handful of teams that were willing to vote for it in March. The commissioner wants it, that League office wants it, so you know, they table it to May hoping that they can jump up some more support. But I don't think anybody was under the illusion that it was going to pass at this meeting. I think this is more about setting up a discussion for twenty twenty six and maybe more poignantly, whenever they go to eighteen games. You know, it was interesting because I like, I think a big part of this for the league has been how do we make Week seventeen Week eighteen more compelling because you have more teams now resting guys like the Rams were rewarded for it last year, like they could have been the third or the fourth seed. They had something to play for in Week eighteen, and Sean McVay prioritized rest over getting the third seed and then he wound up being rewarded for it, right like because they came out with fresh legs and beat the crap out of the Vikings the first round of the playoffs. As we go to eighteen games and stuff's going to probably become more and more relevant team's prioritizing rests maybe a little bit like you see in the NBA. And so you know, I noticed a discussion that they really wanted to get going. And Kevin demof the COO of the Rams, actually probably had the most relevant question that he raised in the room yesterday, which was, we need to decide what we're trying to do here. Are we trying to be fair or are we trying to have a more competitive Week eighteen? Having a more compelling Week eighteen? What's the goal if you are a more compelling Week eighteen, No question, the open seating format would give you that. If you are trying to be fair, I think the way they do it now is probably more fair because the schedules. There's so many inequities between the schedules. I mean, for example, like the NFFS this year, go ahead, what do you go breaks?

Well, just to that point, we had a conversation with Pete Prisco and he was like a dog chasing his tail.

I think by the end of it he was arguing with himself. But I digress if you because this part was.

Well why have divisions, which I think is actually like a fair point because if the only thing you're saying about divisions that they bring you is, oh, it gets a chance to host a home playoff game, and there's value in that, and the inequity in regards to scheduling comes up because.

My point back to him is, well, look, if you.

Could theoretically you just have a format where you play everyone in your own conference and you don't have to worry about playing your division rival twice, and that's very unnatural to the NFL schedule.

Fans may even hate that, but like the rivalry.

Still exists amongst some of those division rivals that you have. That doesn't change. It's no different in college football, right. The difference would be in this case, you actually get to see who, in the regular season is the best team of the entire conference. You can compare because there's more common opponents, head to play, etc. And you could end up doing your seating that way, which feels at least more fair, even though there won't be as much crossover to the NFC side, maybe besides a couple of games in a seventeen game schedule.

And I think Brady like that. It's interesting you say that, because I think that was sort of the challenge that the commissioner of the league off It's put in front of everybody I'm coming out of this meeting, was to think big picture and this end to not let close the door on anything.

You know.

I like, I'm with you. I think that's the way they're going to be thinking going forward. Is like, like, do we need to rethink the way we do the scheduling format formula? Do we need to rethink the way we do divisions? Because I mean, and I was I was gonna bring up this inequity. I think it's a really it's a really relevant one, right, Like, it's the NFC East this year plays the NFC North and the and the AFC West, and those two divisions there are six playoff teams. Right, So the NFC East teams, whoever wins the NFC East, right, say they have eleven wins? Is that more impressive than an NFC West team? And the NFC West is playing the two South divisions, which I think had like five teams that had twelve or more losses, right, and only two playoff teams. Is it more impressive than an NFC West team winning twelve or thirteen games. You could argue that it is, right, and they're but the bottom line is no, no matter how you slice that up, they're competing in completely different environments. They're not competing against the same team, you know, And so I think that's the number one thing is like, if you're going to look at open seatings, fine, but you really do have to address the schedule inequities then, and the scheduling inequities. I don't know any way you can fix that because just the number of games you play because of the scheduling inequities I think the only way you do that is to repatch to the way you do the conferences.

Yeah, you just have the conferences. You want to have divisions. I mean again, college football.

Is battling this to some degree too, with how the conferences are scheduling out their games amongst other opponents.

Yeah, for sure. And I think you like and you know, like the cool thing about that is like it may diminish the ride the division rivalries you have a little bit, but then it may create new rivalries too, you.

Know, and like, yeah, but more teams.

Could you make the case too though that like it only increases them the one time you do play that rival like you only get one shot at it.

You don't get to.

Well no, no, no, but I'm saying, like they're gonna be now now there are gonna be some teams that you're gonna be playing every year, you know what I.

Mean, Yeah, I got you.

I'm just saying, like the ones that used to play twice a year, saying, you don't have that shot to maybe split or sweeping, right, It's just that.

And that's probably you know what, Like that's probably where it's similar to college football too, in that, like you know, the division format, right, if you put two rivals in opposite divisions and they're not playing each other as much, well then that's a real problem for some schools and less of a problem for others. Like you know, for some schools like that have two or three natural rivals, like that'd be a big deal if you lost some of those rivalries, where there might be another school that doesn't have those same natural rivalries, where it's less of a big deal, you know. I mean for the NFCS teams, that will probably feel like a huge deal. For the AFC South teams probably less of a big deal, if that makes sense.

Let me get you one lass, just switching gears on on you for my last question. What's the update on the Aaron Rodgers situation. I know Q said his inside sources are saying he's going to sign. It's a it's a foregone conclusion. He's going Pittsburgh. When when does this happen?

They've given him, they've given him I mean, like look like I like, I like my understanding that he's given them every indication that that that that that he's likely coming, and they feel comfortable that he is coming, but not things one hundred percent, and I think really like this is kind of kind of boiled down. Uh, you know, Aaron getting all of his personal matters, taking care of the level he wants to and he's earned the right to to to to do that and wait it out. And you know, again, like I said you guys last week, like I I think part of this is, like you know, once he signs, like he sort of has to start showing up or else everybody's gonna be answering a lot of questions. And so you know, I think that might that's probably part of it too, where it's like when I sell and I want to be all in, and you know, like I know he's traveled a bunch recently, and you know, whenever that winds down, my guess would be that he is going to be all right. Whenever I sign, I'm going to lock in and I'm going to be a stealer all the way in. And by the way, guys, I do think like the way the mini camp thing caused a big issue for him last year, I would not underrate that as a factor in this whole thing, because he you know, going through that, the way he went through that, and what a big deal that became last June. Like I think that that's a factor in the way he's handling on all this too.

Get him on x at Albert Breer, Senior NFL reporter, lead content strategist at the MMQB, Amazon Prime NFL Insider, and a Thursday tradition with us here every single week. AB, we appreciate it. We'll do it again next week.

Thanks all, Thank you.

There is the great Alberbreer with us here. There were some rumblings that he wasn't so confident about the cell reception he was going to have, but made it through clean, made it through clean, sounded great, so good to hear from.

Maybe

2 Pros and a Cup of Joe

All-American football stars & 1st Round NFL Draft picks LaVar Arrington and Brady Quinn along with J 
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